Fight almost KO’d in licence mix-up

A CHARITY boxing match due to take place tonight has had to change venues at the last minute because the MECA’s premises licence has run out.

Neilson Promotions has moved its white collar boxing event to the Oasis Leisure Centre after they discovered the MECA’s licence ran out on September 4.

Justin Britchford, co-manager at the MECA, said they only discovered the problem on Thursday night, which is due to the previous company running the MECA being dissolved.

“It has come to our knowledge that the company holding the premises license at MECA, GVS Entertainment LTD, was dissolved on September 4,” he said.

“Due to the ongoing legal implications with the lease being signed over to our company, and a lack of communication from the previous company director, it means that there is no longer a premises license at MECA and, as a result, there was not enough time to apply for one before the boxing event on October 13.

“When a company is dissolved the director has 28 days to transfer the license to someone else or another company, otherwise the license is void.

“This was only brought to our attention on Thursday afternoon, by which time, it was unfortunately too late to do anything about it.

“We have now signed a new agreement with the council and have re-applied for the premises license.

“In the meantime, all of the events scheduled for the next couple of months will be run under a temporary event notice so will be going ahead.

“We hope to have the license at the end of the 28 day consultation period, starting from today.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused for the boxing event but with the new ownership fully having gone through, we will be starting a new exciting chapter at MECA.

Neilson Promotions hasbeen forced to spend an extra £3,300 on hiring a new venue, as well as a further £1,000 on last-minute promotion, insurance and staff costs for the new venue. It is hoping it will still make enough money to be able to donate proceeds to Tami’s Wish and the Clivey Project.

Tony Neilson, one of the partners in Neilson Promotions, said: “We were told at 4.30pm on Thursday that they haven’t got a licence.

“The change has given us more than £4,000 worth of extra costs, which when you’re trying to do things for charity isn’t great.

“The whole thing is a nightmare but fortunately the Oasis have pulled out all the stops to help us.”

The MECA originally agreed to let Neilson Promotions use the venue for free, but said it would take the proceeds from the bar.

Tickets for the event, which starts at 7pm, will be available on the door at the Oasis tonight or they can be bought at www.neilsonpr motions.co.uk

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